Oy! What a month May was! Between the birthdays, weddings and holidays, I'm not sure which way is up anymore. I told myself I was going to enjoy the summer and since it only just started--well, I gotta say I'm off to a pretty good start.

Now, as many of you know the, the bathroom has been an anchor dragging the whole house down. Initially, it was the kitchen bringing the whole house down and before that the living room and so on...
But now NOW!

Class-ey!
But wait, in case you forgot what I used to look at day after day...

Ok. Now scroll back up and look at the after photo, then scroll down quickly and pretend like you never saw the other photo. That's how I live my life.

So, if you'll look at that cabinet in the corner, Bones actually tore out the old one and rebuilt it. He got two of those stained glass panels off of eBay for $20! Some men hunt with bows and arrows, Bones hunts with a mouse and a keyboard. So much more humane.
In keeping with his bargain hunting ways, Bones bought the mirror from the ReUse Center and built the frame for it.
Oh, and I feel the distant drum beat of the ancient bargain hunter in my heart, too. That shower curtain? Among a wall of $25 curtains, I found that one for $4.98+tax. And I used a gift card! (Tarzan yell)

Here's a detail of the corner of the mirror. The frame is curly maple, and the spline is purple heart. From what we understand, it is particularly unhealthy to breathe in purple heart sawdust. Bones is putting his life on the line, people!

It's a big mirror, right? Well guess what? It opens up!

Can you see the medicine cabinet behind there? Really, though, I just like the picture because of its cinematic qualities. Do you see the bucket? Now just picture a hand with a knife in it over that bucket. Then picture some young blonde out of the shot pawing unaware through the medicine cabinet looking for her mascara.
I watch a lot of horror movies, sorry. Don't worry, the blonde wins.

Let us step once more into the Wayback Machine and check out the way it used to look when we first moved in.

Ah, yes. Institution green, my favorite of all the washed out greens.
Moving on. Remember when I wrote about redoing the bathroom so it was like peeing in a millionaire's library?
Well, it's totally like that.

The painting is by Bones's Aunt Margaret, by the way, who has an unrivaled skill with watercolors. That is not an easy medium. You pretty much have to go in with confidence, or at least have a lot of paper to waste.
While that is an amazing painting, it's the divider that I'm into. Specifically this:

That is an inlay and yet another example of the man's talent. The design comes from a book of Japanese designs. You have to realize that he had to carve the shape into the board and then cut pieces to fit in them.
I just love that he puts all these cool, random details into the house. Our house has a long way to go, but when it's finished--or as close as it can be--it will be one of the most unique homes I've ever seen. And whatever happens to these old digs, at least it has given him practice and a portfolio.

Maybe I'm gushing, but if you went from this:

And this:

You would too.

As an added bonus, since I surprisingly don't have pictures of Scruffy, is one of my lovely birthday gifts.

That vase was made by Bones's sister Marty, and serves as yet another example of the bottomless well that is the Dwyer talent.

Works in Progress

Today's focus is on showing some of the baby steps Bones has made on various parts of the house. But, to paraphrase, "This is one small step for us, one giant leap for home improvement." I am just amazed that in a relatively short amount of time, Bones can undo years worth of outdated conventions (painted-over wallpaper everywhere, including the ceiling) and create modern, yet classic, looks. Judging by that description, I think it's safe to say I've been watching too much Project Runway--stop me if I start saying that the house is "fashion-forward" and "fierce."
So, on with the show:

This makes me feel rich just looking at it. And, lately, that's the only way I'm going to feel rich. The only thing missing is...Anyone? That's right, the doors. However, Bones can't be faulted for that, since he is currently working on a more important project which I will show below. Bones used curly maple for the cupboards, which has quickly become one of my favorite woods, unlike some of those boring and useless woods out there--I'm talking to you, balsa. The counter tops are granite tile, the color is known as "Uba Tuba." Just say it out loud, it's fun. The tiles were the cheaper alternative to having a slab counter top. It was a good compromise considering my refusal of anything laminate.

To appreciate the rich beauty further, let's take a look at the "Before":

And yet, we almost didn't get this place because someone bid over the asking price. Notice the linoleum on the counter top. That's brown duct tape around the sink. I don't even know what the old owner's were going for with the black, scalloped thingie, but it ain't working.

Moving on, Bones is in the midst of a fixing up the bathroom, formerly a blight compared to rest of the first floor. You may have seen it thusly:

All done up in a color I call "Institution Green."

But, Friday night Bones started a new project that I have to show before it's even finished.

Ahh, yes, much better. And it's just going to get better. He'll be breaking up the wainscotting into boxes, or frames; and of course we'll be getting rid of the green. Now I feel like I'm peeing in style. Like I'm peeing in a millionaire's personal library. Take that, random millionaire!

Well, come back on Tuesday, Scruffy's birthday is tomorrow, and I'll be posting pics. He's going to be four. That's two years that he's been with us. Our baby's growing up! I'll be making him a cheeseburger.

The Bathroom is Upgraded One Plane at a Time

I'm going to start with the most recent example of Bones's awesomeness. The bathroom floor! He put in new porcelain tile over the awful "industrial resiliant" tiling we had before. Resiliant against what? Good taste and aesthetics, that's what. Ugh.

But, now I have something pretty to look at besides the shower curtain and the mirror;)

And the crowd roars!!!!!!


PS - Thanks to Mom and Dad Sievers for the handsome vanity. And thanks to Mike and Dawn for the pretty shower curtain mentioned, but not pictured. And, of course, thanks to Barb and Moe Dwyer for making it possible to bathe standing up, aka showering. Seriously, there was no shower in this place until they came over and made it happen.